Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) isn’t apologizing for the GOP’s stance on social issues. But the Tea Party darling sure knows how the Republican Party can improve in elections, and it’s all about the messaging.

Cruz sat down with late-night talk show host Jay Leno during his appearance on “The Tonight Show” on Friday night. Leno pressed Cruz on why he thought the Republican Party lost the last two elections and the GOP’s stance on both gay marriage and gun control.

“I think we did a lousy job of making the argument. Margaret Thatcher famously said, ‘first you win the argument, then you win the vote.’ And listen, I think it’s a question of what works,” Cruz said.

The Tea Party darling noted how slowly the economy has grown since President Obama took office, and said the President’s economic policies don’t hurt the top 1 percent of the population, but rather immigrants and young people.

“Economists are calling this generation of young people a lost generation because they’re coming out without jobs, without growth,” Cruz said. “The rich do great with big government. Big business does great with big government. The people who get hammered are the small businesses.”

Leno then shifted the conversation to the GOP’s stance on social issues, and asked why the Republican Party is so focused on topics like gay marriage and gun rights.

“I support marriage between one man and one woman,” Cruz said. “But I also think it’s a question for the states. Some states have made decisions one way on gay marriage. Some states have made decisions the other way. And that’s the great thing about our Constitution, is different states can make different decisions depending on the values of their citizens.”

The 2016 hopeful went on to say the Obama administration has failed to prosecute people on gun crimes, but noted the importance of doing so as away to curb gun crimes.

“I think this 48,000, if you’re a felon, if you’re a fugitive, we ought to come down on you like a ton of bricks.

Check out the last two parts of Cruz’s interview below. And watch Cruz and Leno discuss Obamacare here.